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The Blog for Wednesday, July 04, 2007

"Strange bedfellows"

Thurman, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, gets $3,500 a month from Cárdenas, former chairman of the Florida Republican Party, to help him lobby the new Democratic leadership in Congress on behalf of Miami-Dade County.

Party bylaws do not preclude Thurman from pursuing income outside her $100,000 annual salary. But some current and former leaders were surprised that the party chief charged with turning the state from red to blue in the next presidential election was on the payroll of a top advisor to Republican contender Mitt Romney.

''It, unfortunately, puts her in a position where questions could be raised or asked,'' said Bob Poe, whose 2000-02 stint as Democratic Party chairman overlapped with Cárdenas' tenure as GOP chief. "There's nothing wrong other than appearance, but appearance is very important in politics.''

Tallahassee lawyer Allan Katz, a member of the Democratic Party's Executive Committee, said of Thurman's lobbying: "It does a raise a question or two, but I'm not sure to what level . . . It's the kind of thing you would expect to know, and I'm surprised.''

"Top John McCain campaign aides John Weaver and Terry Nelson said that after a second disappointing quarterly fundraising result, the campaign would cut staff and narrow its focus to the 'early states.' Weaver, the campaign’s senior strategist, repeatedly listed Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. That appeared to undercut plans Nelson talked about in May to intensify the campaign’s Florida effort. Back then, Nelson, the campaign manager, told the Tribune we could expect to see McCain accelerate his drive to win Florida because of the state’s new, earlier primary date, Jan. 29." "McCain Still Focused On Florida, Spokesman Says".

"Out-of-state residents" Kick Up a Fuss

"A lawsuit filed this year by out-of-state residents challenges the constitutionality of Florida's existing Save Our Homes tax benefit, a plum for longtime homeowners that will remain available regardless of whether voters approve a property tax cut plan in January." "Lawsuit Further Complicates State's Tax Picture".

Charter School Fiasco

"The Orange County school district has shut down a charter school after officials said they found evidence of serious financial mismanagement and abuses of state education law at the beloved Orlando elementary." "District probe closes Orange charter school".

"Just weeks into the storm season, the controversy swirling around the new director of the National Hurricane Center has just been upgraded."

Bill Proenza kicked off the hurricane season last month by publicly criticizing his bosses at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Now, a five-member NOAA team from Washington has been dispatched to the Miami-Dade County facility for an unscheduled review to determine whether forecasters can fulfill their mission under current management. ...

"The timing of the investigation also alarms us," wrote U.S. Reps. Ron Klein and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. "Conducting the operational assessment one month into hurricane season could serve as a major distraction and impediment to the center's vital work, particularly if key personnel are distracted."

As Rudy blathers about his presumed national security credentials, recall (as described in this New Yorker piece) that "after receiving several deferments as a student, Giuliani applied for an occupational deferment as a law clerk, but his application was rejected. Giuliani appealed their decision, and asked the federal judge he was clerking for to petition the draft board for him. Which the judge did." "Rudy and ’Nam".

The Tampa Tribune editorial board: "Given the results, the leaders of our schools should demonstrate a heightened sense of urgency for diagnosing the problems and creating solutions. Ultimately, these scores represent failure only if no one stands up to fix our struggling schools." "Failing School Grades Only Stick If We Fail To Improve Education".

He's called some environmentalists "wackos" and said people complaining about high home prices were lazy, beer drinking "schlocks."

Now the mayor has shifted his attention to a robotic toilet, saying the invention could have a special edge over a traditional restroom in preventing the "homosexual activity" that he said plagues other public restrooms.

The robo-john the city might buy for $250,000 or more allows occupants to stay inside for only a short time before the door opens. Probably not enough time for "illegal sex," Naugle figures.

Q reports that "The Florida Home Builders Association Tuesday removed from its Web site a statement linking political contributions to sponsorship of legislation limiting impact fees, which the group supports ... soon after The Palm Beach Post published an article describing the statement ...". Impact fee threat? What impact fee threat?".

Citizens

"Citizens Property Insurance on Tuesday closed two financial transactions it says will provide nearly $2 billion in liquidity for it to pay claims for its personal and commercial lines accounts." "Citizens secures nearly $2B for insurance claims".